MLB Player News

Lee was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Houston selected Lee with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 draft. The backstop slashed .268/.359/.371 with three homers in rookie ball during 64 games in 2019 and has continued to progress at the plate this season. After last year's minor-league season was cancelled, Lee put together a .330/.402/.459 slash line with three homers, five doubles and 13 RBI in 29 games at High-A Asheville to start 2021. He figures to make his debut with Corpus Christi in the coming days.

Manager Jayce Tingler said Monday that Nola (knee) won't start a rehab assignment for at least a few weeks, the Associated Press reports.

Tingler indicated late last week that Nola has been showing improvement and is on the verge of ramping up baseball activities, but it appears that the backstop remains weeks away from being able to participate in a minor-league rehab stint. That means his return to the big club will happen no sooner than early July.

Casali went 3-for-4 in Monday's 5-2 win over Arizona.

All three of Casali's hits were singles, and this was his first multi-hit effort of the season. The 32-year-old has seen roughly one-third of the playing time when healthy as the backup to Buster Posey. Casali is slashing just .135/.264/.149 with a double, six RBI and six runs scored across 87 plate appearances.

The Astros optioned Stubbs to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

With Jason Castro (Achilles) cleared to return from the injured list, Stubbs' services were no longer needed as the No. 2 catcher behind Martin Maldonado. During his nearly three-week stay in Houston, Stubbs only appeared in four games, going 3-for-15.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Monday's 3-1 win over the Phillies.

Smith launched a two-run homer off Spencer Howard in the fourth inning, erasing a 1-0 deficit for the Dodgers. It was his second home run in the last three games and his seventh on the season. The 26-year-old has been one of the top fantasy options at catcher this year, slashing .271/.368/.471 with 19 extra-base hits, 22 RBI, 32 runs scored and a stolen base.

Murphy went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and two runs scored in Monday's 8-5 win over the Angels. He was also hit by a pitch twice.

Murphy gave Oakland the lead with his two-run shot off Dylan Bundy in the second inning. The 26-year-old catcher was 2-for-20 since his last homer June 4. He's up to 20 extra-base hits, 34 RBI and a .723 OPS through 208 plate appearances.

Hedges isn't starting Monday's game against the Orioles.

Hedges returned to the lineup Sunday and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Rene Rivera will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Monday's game against Milwaukee.

Barnhart has started 42 games behind the plate, nearly twice as many as Tyler Stephenson, who makes his 22nd start of the year there Monday. Stephenson has also started 11 times at first base, however, so he could continue cutting into Barnhart's playing time on a more regular basis going forward now that Joey Votto is back from his thumb injury.

Mejia went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in a win over the Orioles on Sunday.

The backup catcher snapped out of a brief two-game slump with Sunday's multi-hit effort, his first since May 23. Mejia has proven reasonably productive with his opportunities thus far this season, posting a .252/.319/.393 slash line with nine extra-base hits and 13 RBI over 120 plate appearances, figures he's complemented with a modest 17.5 percent strikeout rate, the lowest of his career.

Stassi went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Stassi launched a two-run homer to give the Angels an early 2-0 lead in the first. It was his fifth home run of the season and his fourth this month. The 30-year-old came into Sunday slashing .448/.484/.897 with seven extra-base hits in June before adding the home run. His overall slash line for the season stands at .339/.397/.645 with five home runs, 11 RBI and 16 runs scored. Stassi's high production at the moment likely isn't sustainable but he should be rostered mostly everywhere given the lack of depth at the catcher position.